How We Came up with Cards for Men

Sometimes, it’s the smallest things that inspire us. Our new card collection for men happened to get its start from a cocktail napkin.

Though not just any napkin (see above). A martini glass, hand-stitched on a fine linen napkin, with an olive the single pop of color — the kind of simple chic design we love. (Though we can claim no credit for finding them; instead, these charming napkins arrived with a particularly generous dinner party guest.)

So when we started building the mood board for men’s cards, the cocktail napkin was one of the first items we pinned (see it in the top left hand corner). It was joined by images of dandy accessories, Mad Men suits, and 60’s movie icons like Steve McQueen and Paul Newman.

The elegant martini glass naturally found its way onto its own birthday card (above).

To distinguish this line of cards, we printed them on a premium, textured paper and — because these are men who discern the details — splashed out on envelopes with deckled edges (see above).

Finally, we designed a trio of small note cards. The debonair icons — cufflinks, bow-tie and martini — and the “stitched” border detail are meant to evoke, no surprise here, a cocktail napkin. (Easy personalization idea: run these through any home inkjet printer to put a name or initials on them.)

And forgive us for leaping into a holiday frame of mind already, but this little box of 10 notecards (just $12.95) is a pretty swell stocking stuffer for men. Find them at select retail outlets, or order them online here.